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Updated: 20 November 2012 | 6:35 am in conversations
Do rising maintenance needs justify gas tax increase?
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Gas pumps are shown at a station in Cedar Rapids. (Dallas Houtz/The Gazette)
A coalition of farm and business groups is forming to push Iowa legislators for a 10-cent increase in state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel.
Scott Newhard, of the Associated General Contractors of Iowa, told The Des Moines Register that he’s expecting support for the idea from the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Iowa Bankers Association and several other agriculture and business groups.
Newhard says the fuel tax increase is needed to address a $215 million annual funding shortfall for critical maintenance and improvements needed by Iowa’s road system.
Is it finally time to raise the state’s gas tax to help catch up road and bridge maintenance?
Rules of Engagement
Do rising maintenance needs justify gas tax increase?
The cost of maintenance goes up with inflation. Gas tax revenue does not. In fact, with improved fuel efficiency, it is likely that gas tax revenue has gone down. The fact that our roads need more maintenance is obvious to anyone who drives on them. It’s pretty clear that we need more money for road maintenance and an increase in the gas tax is the way to get it.
Rich, While fuel mileage may be up there are other places that the state gets road tax revenue. Every new or used vehicle that is sold is taxed at 5% of the trade or purchase price and those dollars go to the road use tax fund. This has a automatic tax dollar increase built into it as prices go up several times a year on new cars and trucks as well as used vehicle values keep going up. The state gave us the song and dance when they raised license plate fee’s several times on different vehicles. In the 80′s the plate fee was a flat $75 on vans and SUV’s now these fee’s can be more than a thousand dollars on high end units and most are at least $250 a year.The plate fee’s are based on about 1% of the MSRP so they got us covered there. Pick up trucks were a flat $65 a year and now many are $350 plus a year. The state used to start lowering the plate fee after the vehicle got to be older than six years of age and bottomed out at 10 years, now it’s eight years before any decrease and it doesn’t bottom out until 12 years, and older vehicle would bottom out at $20 or less but are now $50. And now they want to raise our taxes again. They will not be happy until they have it all.
Please tell us what percentage of road maintenance funds come from these sources you cite. While I don’t know that percentage I suspect it is lower, perhaps much lower, than 50%. If I am right then the fact remains that the primary source of funds (gas taxes) are not subject to inflation while the costs are.
Please, just in Jan, they were able to identify $50M in savings. If someone with half an ounce of energy was put in charge, there’s no telling how much more they could find in savings.
http://qctimes.com/news/local/68177030-46b1-11e1-af6f-001871e3ce6c.html
Like they say, “what’s orange and sleeps 3?”. Answer: an IDOT road truck.
The only thing we need to do in the United States is the opposite of what Liberal Democrats are doing…….so lets see the Canadian perspective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWkUaJId7pM&fb_source=message
Stay on topic and don’t try to make this a partisan issue. Our infrastructure is not being maintained at a proper level. What would you do to fix it?
Just what are “liberal Democrats” doing in regard to road maintenance so we know what the “opposite” would be? How does the link in any way relate to raising money for road maintenance needs ? That is the subject, right ?
Only a 215 million anual “shortfall”. Out of the approximately 6 billion Iowa budjet 3.2 of that is spent on “entitlements”. What would i do to fix it Rupert?
Oh…..that’s an easy solution. In part I would disolve all State employee unions along with their fat contracts. I would then proceed to slash n burn entitlements 50% over a four year period. That’s just the beginning. We used to have great roads. Not anymore. Want good roads? Stop spending tax dollars……..get a job…….and start generating tax dollars.
And just who’s hand is in the cookie jar with regards to the “Associated Contractors of Iowa”………must be road contractors and union no doubt!